


The (Fantasy) Greatest Show

by Changeling (Thiswasmydesign)



Series: Taakitz week 2 [4]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: 2taakitz2week, Alternate Universe - Circus, Angus' found family, Bearded Lady / strongwoman Julia, But in its own way, F/M, M/M, Major character death; but... that's kind of standard TAZ, Mortal Kravitz & Reaper Kravitz, Plenty of Fluff, Plot, Probably more tags as I go, Ringmaster Davenport, Spans most arcs, Strongman Magnus, Taako needs hugs, Trapeze Lup&Taako, and just like standard TAZ it rarely lasts huh?, headcanon refused to leave me alone, partly for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-20 09:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16134593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiswasmydesign/pseuds/Changeling
Summary: Travelling show/ circus AU - with inspiration from Greatest Showman (don't need to have seen to read)Ten years ago a group of strangers and misfits with gaps in their memory banded together to create a travelling show with the help of a secret investor. Now, their little venture has grown to have a huge following as the greatest show in Faerun.Even reapers need time away once in a while, and Kravitz is quite sure that his Goddess placed his newly mortal self in the path of the plane's most famous travelling show to give him chance to pursue his old dream of being a conductor. It's all too easy to be swept up by the wonder of the show and its performers, especially a certain elf, but behind the scenes not everything is as it seems. The performers have secrets, with some more sinister than others. Without his reaper abilities, Kravitz has no choice but to go it alone without the whispers of his Goddess to guide him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, no prizes for guessing the inspiration on this one! This is one of those fics that has hovered in the back of my mind for a very long time but as I had focused on other fandoms I hadn’t ever put pen to paper (or keys to screen). It’s another of those where it started as “has anyone written this? They should?” and took on a life of its own when there wasn’t one out there. And since it’s almost Taakitz week… it's happening.
> 
> It was really hard to write the summary because I'm pretty sure this will have a mind of its own and my story plan will probably be thrown out quickly, so I've kept it vague. Hope that doesn't put readers off.

When Kravitz had promised his service to the Raven Queen, he had somehow assumed that his reaper form would be invulnerable to weaknesses. Things like pain, tiredness and boredom had seemed to be as mortal of a concept as hunger and the need to breathe. It had taken him several centuries to realize that this was not the case.

Even as a reaper, he could feel weary. A sort of exhaustion that went beyond the need for impossible sleep, that made his very bones ache with the need for rest. It was for this reason that the Raven Queen had given so many other Reapers periods to rest over the years, times to walk amongst the living and to spend time with their descendants.

Kravitz had never taken that time. As the most favored of the Raven Queen’s entourage, he was called upon often enough that he had never been inclined to take his due.

However, so many centuries after his living body had died, Kravitz found it an effort to reform even his skeletal form when his Goddess called upon him to reap an errant necromancer. He had pushed through long enough, but he was starting to make mistakes. He was slow, sustaining more injuries and finding it more difficult to collect his bounties.

His mistakes had not gone unnoticed, and after one particularly drama – filled reaping he cringed as the Goddess saw right through his excuses.

“I don’t need a high insight to beat a natural one, Kravitz,” she had rolled her many raven’s eyes at him where he knelt at the feet of her throne, her dark feathers rustling as she shifted. “This has gone on for long enough. It is about time that you take your rest.”

Kravitz kept his eyes down respectfully, glad that his skeletal features did not betray the distaste he felt at the idea. The other reapers had descendants, they had reasons to return to the world of the living. Kravitz had died alone, without any family, and centuries of reaping errant souls had only managed to enforce his awareness of how cruel life could be.

“All the more reason for you to see a different side to their lives,” his Goddess interrupted the thought before it had fully time to form. Skeletal or not, there were no secrets that he could keep from his Queen; Kravitz existed through extension of his power, and his thoughts were hers to hear as clearly as he could himself. “You have changed, child, and not for the better.”

He was assailed by a memory, impressed upon him by the Raven Queen. He could see through her eyes a young man – younger than the appearance he took for himself now, when he chose to present a mortal-like form. The figure knelt at her feet, much as he did still now, his expression filled with an equal amount of amazement and fear. There was something about the look in his eyes that seemed so terribly naïve to Kravitz now; hopeful and trusting even though he was afraid. Even having died young, suffered terrible illness and had an end interrupted by another’s agonizing failed attempt at necromancy, the boy that he saw looked to him like a child who knew nothing of the world and its horrors.

“My Queen,” Kravitz was always respectful with his Goddess, but in this case he was willing to push the boundaries if he must. “I grew up.”

“And why, my dear reaper, should that be a good thing?” thousands of eyes blinked at him with perfect synchronization, membranes flickering in their disconcerting way from the front of the eyes to the back.

* * *

 

Kravitz hovered at the edge of a water fountain, studying the image reflected in its glassy surface. The body looked like his own, its features perfectly matched to those he created when he was reaping souls, but it felt strange. Alien.

His skin was warm, for one thing, and the chill breeze that barely ruffled his braids was almost biting in contrast. His heart beat out a metronomic rhythm, each pulse of blood echoing in his ears and almost drowning out the sounds of the village around him. Every breath was an effort, and yet if he did not breathe his chest ached until it forced him to gasp, coughing and spluttering as his mortal form dragged in the air it needed.

One hour to adjust to the heartbeat, or so his Queen had told him. As long as a day to breathe automatically, though when he slept his body would adjust to this quickly. Other functions would become natural in time, and after a week his additional senses from being a reaper would have faded. He would not longer sense the astral plane, his mind closed off from his Queen for the first time in half a millennium.

He would have a lifetime, starting from this body he had chosen and until its death, to recuperate from his time as a reaper.

Back in the years when he had first been an emissary of death, he recalled wondering what he would have done with his life if he had survived his illness. It had been so very long since that time, but he still recalled his dreams back then. From the collection of items his Queen had provided for his new life, it seemed that she had remembered as well.

In addition to the substantial coin purse she had provided this new mortal body, Kravitz had opened a bag of holding to find all manner of musical instruments. Even with his bardic aspirations when he had been alive, he only knew how to play about half of these, but the sight of them increased the tempo of his newly beating heart until he recalled years in the gutter, his hat laid out for donations as he busked for enough copper to pay for a meal. The joy of the days when he would make it. The hunger that followed a day of rain, when there were less travelling on the streets who would donate. The pain that he would put himself through to feed himself on those occasions when things became truly desperate.

Ripples in the water disrupted the reflection and with it his thoughts. Reminding himself to take a breath, Kravitz found his attention grabbed by a gaudy display of colour that had replaced the statue at the center of the fountain and with it a banner that had appeared as if from nowhere, its declaration as bold as the new colour scheme; _The Fantasy Greatest Show._ Beneath the wording, a newly conjured clock counted downwards minute by minute from 6:11:59.

* * *

 

The buzz around the town that had started with the sudden appearance of dozens of similar displays only grew as the countdown approached zero. It would have been easy for Kravitz to be swept up in the furor if only he had tried to engage with the local population. From his room in the local inn he watched it all pass him by as he kept to himself, tinkering with his new musical instruments and finding his coordination once more. There was something of a relief in it when he managed to tune the violin and found that muscle memory had survived the centuries to play one of his favorite old tunes. The feeling was as strange as it was welcomed.

Breathing was automatic now, blinking only noticeable when he concentrated on it, and he was beginning to recognize the warning signs for his body’s basic needs before they were desperate. Hunger was more difficult, able to be ignored for long times only to become all consuming at the simplest of scents when passing through the village’s marketplace or past the inn’s kitchen.

Interacting with others was even more of a challenge than he had predicted. A part of him expected to see their expressions change when they saw him, consumed with the fear or defiance that he was so used to in his Reaper form. It was impossible to ignore the instinct in the back of his mind that prepared for them to send a spell or two flying in his direction, or to drop his work accent even though there was absolutely no reason to keep it up. Here in particular it only gained him more strange looks and snickers behind his back when he walked away.

It didn’t matter to him. He did not plan to stay here for very long.

The Raven Queen had a reason for everything that she did, and Kravitz did not think it was any form of coincidence that the notification of the supposedly greatest show would appear within moments of him arriving here if she had not put him in its path deliberately. For an aspiring bard such an amazing opportunity should not be missed, and he was glad for the short time he had before they arrived to refresh what skills he had.

The morning of the sixth day was signified by a illusory mist in the fields near the village. No one else seemed to see it, and Kravitz soon realized that he could only because of his still functional reaper senses. The mist signified the edges of a magical field masking whatever was within on the sprawling site. The show had arrived overnight.

Kravitz was ready, positioning himself closer to the illusion field than the assembled crowd in the village square who were watching the countdown, all work having stopped for the day. Kravitz had learned from conversations overheard that the show was famous throughout the land, and was there and gone in just one day, so it was not so strange that they would close businesses for the village’s once in a lifetime chance.

Before the clock could hit zero, the drum beat began, ticking away with the seconds and then twice per second, the tempo increasing to a roll before music sprang to life and the illusion dropped, revealing an immense big top in every colour of the rainbow and surrounding it a fairground large enough to be considered a village in its own right. Children’s excitement boiled over into shouts and screams as even the most mature of the crowd broke into a round of applause.

As far as the eye could see was colour and light, bright and overwhelming for Kravitz who had lived in shadow for so long. He hesitated long enough for the crowd to sweep him up within their number and be carried forward by sheer mass of bodies towards the fairground.

There was too much for him to process at first, everything passing in a blur. The music carried him onwards, his heart pounding with its beat. To his left, a carousel with unicorns glowing with colorful magics. To his right a bouncy castle as large as a real house, with an inflated dragon looming over its interior and intermittently blasting fake flames from within its great maw. Further on a game of fantasy hook a duck, complete with carved wooden ducks, where the prizes were also ducks in various forms. On again and he was carried by the crowd past a house of horrors on one side and an unlabeled tent that shook with the roar of a terrible beast as he passed.

He was out of breath by the time he managed to separate himself from the crowd, taking the first opportunity to escape through the doorway of a fabric barrier and finding himself in an open-air cookery theatre, complete with a large banner over the caravan; Sizzle It Up with Taako and Lup.

“Sir, you shouldn’t be in here yet,” a child’s voice interrupted before he could take a welcome moment to catch his breath. “The show doesn’t start for an hour, sir…”

The way the boy fell silent and flinched a little as Kravitz looked to him was a wake-up call, forcing him to realize how stormy his expression was at that moment. The surge of cold guilt that raced through him in contrast to the still unfamiliar warmth of his living body was evidently displayed in his expression as well, because the boy’s fear didn’t last for more than a moment.

“I’m sorry,” he hastened to add to the child. “I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just… a bit _much_ out there.”

“Oh, it’s okay sir!” the child’s face was lit by a broad smile. “It’s just that this part of the show isn’t open yet and Mister Taako doesn’t like it if people come in here early, but you could stay for a little bit if it helps? Would you like a glass of water? It can be a bit scary out there sometimes, it’s just so loud isn’t it sir?”

Kravitz was too startled to resist as the young human boy, who could not have been older than ten years if he was a day, caught his arm and pulled him to a chair. The child’s smile was infectious and Kravitz couldn’t help but release some of the tension that had started when he was swept up by the crowd.

“I suppose I’m not used to so many people,” he admitted somewhat reluctantly, trying to look at least more comfortable than he felt. “Thank you for taking pity on me…”

“Angus McDonald,” the boy held out his hand to shake, his spine straightening and shoulders dropping back into a confident and self-assured stance. “The greatest detective of my age.”

“There can’t be many detectives your age?” Kravitz shook the boy’s hand, trying not to think too much on how this was the first time he had deliberate physical contact with another living being since he had returned to their ranks.

“No, Sir,” Angus leaned in with a conspiring whisper. “But I’m still pretty good at it Sir, even if I do say so myself.”

“Hey Agnes, where’ve you got to?” a head poked out of the large open window of the caravan, all but obscured by a huge and frankly ridiculous chef’s hat. Catching sight of Kravitz the chef’s hat was pushed back, revealing features of a beautiful elf with a long blonde braid over one shoulder and eyes of two different colours. These elegantly dark-lined eyes fixed on him, assessing him quickly. “Hey, tall dark and handsome, show’s not starting yet.”

“Taako Sir,” Angus placed himself between him and the elf in an almost defensive manner whilst Kravitz slowly struggled to process having been addressed as tall dark and handsome. “He was nearly having a panic attack, Sir, with the crowd.”

The elf seemed to hesitate for just a moment before rolling his eyes.

“You’re such a softie, Agnes,” he scolded but there was no bite to it. “Don’t think this gets you out of fetching those herbs from the old man.”

“Yes, Sir,” Angus grinned as the elf – Taako – went back to whatever he was doing in the caravan. The boy turned back to Kravitz and started speaking quickly. “Do you feel better now? You look better now. You’ve got some colour back – oh, you’re blushing aren’t you? Sorry, Mister Taako likes to make people blush, I think he doesn’t like people he can’t wind up sometimes. If you’re ready to go out now Sir, maybe I can show you some of the quieter parts of the fair while you get used to it? I’ve got to hurry, they do need those herbs before the show can start and…”

“Angus,” Kravitz interrupted since he had no chance to get a word in otherwise. “You should go get those herbs. Thank you for letting me rest for a moment. I can take it from here.”

What would his Goddess think if she could see him hiding just because they were too many people? He hoped she wasn’t watching. If she was, he suspected she would be laughing at him.

“That’s very brave of you Sir!” Angus looked delighted for him, his expression so open and genuine that he could not be at all annoyed by the patronizing nature of the comment. “Will you come back for the show? It starts in an hour and it’s really really good. I promise you won’t regret it Sir.”

“I’ll try,” he found himself promising as he pushed back the sheets making up the door in the barrier and rejoined the excited crowd outside.

He didn’t make it back for the breakfast show, time passing quickly as he lost himself in the wonder of exploring the bestiary, spent a dozen copper on childish games and won a small, stuffed, rainbow colored bicorn for his efforts. By the time he had listened to a few of the tunes performed by the bardic band near the entrance to the big top and checked his watch he realized that the time for the cooking show had already passed.

He found himself a seat near the band, picking at a fried meat of dubious nature which he had purchased from a nearby stall, and took some time just to watch the world pass by.

The whole village had turned out for the show, from the mayor with her small entourage all the way to the most impoverished of the street urchins. Kravitz’s attention was caught by a child, perhaps a girl but difficult to tell with her hair cut short and beneath clothing that was several times too large for her thin form, moving through the crowd and carefully pinching coins from pockets, only to see the coins disappear from her grasp and return to the pocket she had taken them from. For a moment he chuckled to himself.

A hand grasped the child’s arm from within the crowd and Kravitz was as startled as her. He almost moved to protect her as he saw a large, muscular man in the bright red garb of the carnival staff keeping hold of her as she struggled and tried to rush away in to the crowd. But the man had a kind eye that belied his strength and as Kravitz watched he appeared to have some quiet words with the child that eventually left her with a wide grin. He handed her some red tokens before he let her go, gently pushing at her shoulder to encourage her when she hesitated to approach a nearby stall. The stallholder took a token in place of coin, and Kravitz watched her win one of the fluffy stuffed ducks on her first attempt. He glanced back into the crowd but the red cloaked man had already moved on.

The music swiftly put his own compositions to shame, especially the violin part. Indeed all of the tunes were specially written, it seemed, with the violin as the leading role and the beat of the drums a close second that kept a constant driving pulse through the entire fair. The magic of the bard’s music encouraged the crowd, its magic faint from having been spread over so many patrons but still ensnaring the mind and heart, encouraging them to give in to the desire for _more_ and _want_ and to give up on common sense and self-restraint. Freeing them to delight in the illusions and the magic of the place and not to try to seek the _how_ of the spectacle before them.

He found himself becoming lost in the music for a good while, not really fully aware of the moment he took out his own violin from his bag of holding and began to play along, not echoing the lead violin but creating an accompaniment to it instinctively. Time passed without meaning as the crowd parted around him to watch his performance as well until a small hand tugged at his elbow, disrupting the smooth sweep of his bow on the strings.

“Sir… Sir!” the young boy he had encountered before in the cooking show was looking up at him with concern in his eyes as Kravitz was broken from the spell of the music. “Sir, you have to come with me _now._ ”

Kravitz was still quite dazed, susceptible to the suggestion the boy made, and followed without resistance all the way back to the caravan and Sizzle It Up with Taako and Lup. He was pushed to sit in one of the chairs, his legs bending obediently but seemingly without his control. The boy hurried into the caravan, clattering around within before returning in a hurry.

“Drink this,” Angus pushed a cup into his hands, watching that he did drink it all before he sighed with something like relief and slumped in one of the chairs. “Do you feel alright Sir?”

Kravitz blinked deliberately a few times as he came slowly to full awareness of himself and his senses once more, frowning down at the cup in his hand. He took stock of himself and decided that he did not, indeed, feel well at all. His head was pounding and his stomach churning over itself in a sensation that was more unpleasant than hunger.

“Do… do you know what that was?” he found himself asking Angus.

“I do but… It’s meant to be a spell to command the undead, so that they won’t bother us here,” the boy told him honestly. “Not that I think you’re undead, Sir! But it’s an altered spell and really rarely it doesn’t just affect undead, so, the person who made it also made this potion so that people can resist it if they need to. You’re really unlucky that it affected you like that, Sir.”

“Yes,” Kravitz winced, resting his sore head in his hand. The pain was enough to stop him bothering about the difference between himself, a reaper, and the undead which he was tasked with reaping. “Unlucky.”

“Do you still have a headache Sir?” Angus looked worried when he nodded. “Maybe I can help you with that Sir, if you wait here I’ll get you some of Merle’s special tea, it’s really good for headaches.”

Angus scurried away into the caravan, the door of which was then left open so that when Kravitz glanced he saw that the boy was the only one in there. He watched idly as the boy filled a kettle and set it on the stove, his attention caught when the boy lit the flame with a spark of prestidigitation. It was extremely unusual to see such a young child with any form of magic that they could control, but not out of place in an environment like this fair where magic seemed to surround them like the air itself.

“This time you have to stay for the show Sir,” Angus concluded when he brought the tea. “You should rest a bit more before you go back out there even if the headache goes away.”

“Sure,” Kravitz found himself agreeing before he had time to think about it, abruptly enough to be sure that the spell was still having some lasting effect. It should have worried him more than it did, but he found himself unable to be concerned through the overwhelming pain in his head.

The tea was earthly and unfamiliar, but not entirely disgusting, and he sipped away at it slowly as it cooled whist Angus busied himself cleaning up in the seating area from the breakfast show. He was glad for the peace and quiet of the area, appreciating it so much that it was only when his headache was almost completely gone that he realized how unnatural it was to not be able to hear the loud fair outside through simple sheets of fabric. More evidence of spell work in action.

“Look who’s back again! Agnes, haven’t you told pretty boy that Taako from TV doesn’t sign autographs?” Taako’s voice tore through the quiet as the sheets towards the back of the caravan were cast open. The chef’s hands remained on their hips as they did, and Kravitz immediately recognized the source of the magics surrounding the area. “Woah, what happened to you? You look like you caught Merle spending some alone time with his garden.”

“Mister Hallwinter’s spell caught him, Mister Taako,” Angus intervened before Kravitz was forced to unpick what exactly this Merle might be doing with his garden that would make him feel – and seemingly look – so drained.

“Pff, Agnes, what have I said about using proper names?” Taako scolded in the same teasing tone before looking Kravitz over once more, a more focused and invested inspection than they had from the caravan earlier in the day. “So _Bluejeans_ messed up again? Sure you’ve not been playing with any necromancy recently sweet cheeks?”

“Definitely not,” Kravitz refuted, disgusted. Glaring at Taako gave him his first good look at the elf, taking in the long apron with the brand logo emblazoned on the front, tied tightly to accentuate at the waist. Like the facial features, the physical form of the elf was undoubtedly attractive if in a way that defied the stereotype of the ethereal elf. This elf was not dressed in the sheer flowing fabrics typical of their kin, instead wearing a hot pink skirt and white blouse beneath the apron, accentuating the length of already long toned legs with a pair of high – and equally pink - heels.

“Well that’s great!” Taako laughed, tossing their head back in the shameless delight of a joke only he understood at that point. “I don’t know what Lup thinks she sees in that guy, honestly, wait till I tell her he’s done it again!”

“Mister Taako, it’s another clue!” Angus had taken out a notebook and started to scribble in it with some gusto. “If I can find out what Mister…”

“Kravitz,” he supplied when the boy looked at him expectantly.

“If I can find out what Mister Kravitz has in common with the others who were affected by the spell I might be able to solve the mystery this time, and then Mister Hallw… Bluejeans can fix it,” Angus had written his name at the top of his notebook page and looked like he might just burst into an interrogation at that very moment. Kravitz felt strangely nervous, concerned that the impact of the lingering spell effect would make him give an answer he really shouldn’t, but he was saved by the arrival of another elf.

The curtains at the back of the performance area blew open inwards as if blasted away from this red-cloaked replica of Taako. With thoughts that felt like they were wading through molasses, Kravitz recognized the almost identical features of both elves, even their freckle patterns matching perfectly across their amber skin, and the deliberate differences. Takko’s hair fell in a braid over his left shoulder, whilst Lup’s was over her right. Taako’s hot pink clothing was contrasted with Lup’s flame red. Taako wore more makeup.

“Yeah, we’ve not got time to grill him now though bubelah, we’ve got a show to do!” Taako looked to Kravitz. “Maybe if pretty boy wants to stay after the show and answer your questions I could be _convinced_ to get him a ticket for tonight’s big show though, yeah?”

“I…”

“Sure, catch up with you afterwards hot stuff,” Taako winked at him, and Kravitz was mortified to feel his cheeks flush again.

“I didn’t answer!” he blustered, wanting little more than to up and leave.

“Didn’t have to,” Taako didn’t even look back at him as he linked arms with Lup, leaning in close as he pulled her into the caravan. “You’ll never guess who just fucked up again…”

The door slammed behind them, but not before Kravitz caught sight of the stove leaping to life with nothing more than a twitch of Lup’s manicured fingertips.

“Sorry, Sir, I’ve got to go sell the tickets,” Angus apologized, collecting the now empty teacup from him. “Please would you stay afterwards though Sir? It really would be a big help.”

Kravitz considered the child and the steadily fading magic that had held him in its thrall, and sighed. “You’re very polite for such a young boy, aren’t you? I will stay, but I’m not sure how much help I will be with your questions.”

“Oh, that’s alright Sir, the connection could be anything! I promise you don’t have to answer anything that you don’t want to, Sir.”

Kravitz bit back a joke about what would happen if Angus tried to force him to do anything, certain that the dark humor would sound more like a threat to a child even though he was not in his reaper form. Instead he nodded, smiling reassuringly, and waved him away. “Best go sell those tickets, you don’t want to upset Mister Taako… oh, how much do I owe you?”

“I couldn’t take your money, Sir,” Angus refused though Kravitz took out his coin purse.

“If I’m here and watching this show I wouldn’t want to short change you and see you get in trouble with the chefs,” Kravitz took out a few coins from the small bag of holding, long out of touch with the use of currency and definitely estimating wildly more than was needed from the look on Angus’ face. To his credit the boy simply shook his head, refusing again.

“Keep your money, Sir,” he demanded firmly. “I’m sure Mister Taako would say it’s payment enough if you forgive the incident with the spell, and don’t go to the authorities?”

With the sheepish look that had returned, Kravitz laughed. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“Maybe a little?” Angus smiled sweetly, and Kravitz hesitated before shrugging and holding out a hand to shake.

“You have a deal,” he promised before shooing the boy to his post outside the fabric walls.

The crowd that gathered for the cooking show filled the seats and the standing room, word of the morning show having spread. Kravitz gave up his seat to a pregnant lady with a toddler on her hip, still just a little shaky as he stood as the tea failed to chase away the last of the headache.

There was something about this carnival, something that awoke that old ache in his very bones, sent a chill down his spine. He tried to shake that feeling, lose himself in the patter of the twin chefs and their magical cooking, filled with showmanship, magic and pyrotechnics. Maybe it was the leftover effect of the command undead spell still lingering at the edge of his awareness, or perhaps he had truly spent too long in service of the Raven Queen, hunting out necromancers and liches and all forms of evils, that such a shadow would follow him to this place of joy. The crowd around him whooped and cheered, a round of applause for every trick, fascinated and delighted. The food that the twins served at the end, the fruits of their labors, was more delicious than he ever recalled tasting. There was no reason for him to still feel so uneasy.

He had thought that Angus would catch him straight after the cooking show to question him, but instead Lup and Taako, side by side, emerged from the caravan, shed their hats and flanked him where he waited patiently for the boy detective.

“Well he doesn’t look undead,” Lup – braid to the right, red longer skirt – told Taako as she took a look at him. Kravitz stood from his chair, feeling suddenly a little vulnerable with the two of them looming over him on both sides. With Taako’s high heels they were almost the same height. Lup’s platforms put her about an inch shorter than him. Even so, standing didn’t have the effect he would have hoped. He still managed to feel like he was surrounded by vultures.

“Told ya,” Taako grinned. “Barry’s in trouble. That’s five now.”

“First one who’s not part of the show though,” Lup suddenly raised an umbrella to point the tip right between Kravitz’s eyes. He recoiled as sparks spit from its tip, almost singeing his eyebrows. “You even think of telling anyone…”

“It’s fine Lup, Agnes has him handled,” a spark of magic from Taako knocked the umbrella away from his face. The elf shoved something at Kravitz’s chest, a small piece of creased paper. “One show ticket, as promised.”

Kravitz took the paper warily, half expecting magic to assail him. “… Thank you?”

“Remember to stick around after,” Taako’s tone changed, from joking to warning.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, and Taako immediately beamed at him again.

“Best not bubelah, you promised Agnes answers.”

“Think you can at least keep it down this time?” Lup demanded as she moved out of Kravitz’s personal space, once again linking her arm with her twin. “I don’t want to waste another spell slot silencing your caravan so poor Angus doesn’t have to hear everything with your bootie call.”

“That’s… I’m not…” Kravitz spluttered, regretting it immediately when the twins paused and turned with practiced synchronicity to grin at him. Taako only made it worse by winking and blowing a kiss.

“Later hot stuff,” the elf teased. “Come on Lup, time to get ready. It takes time to look this good, you know?”

“Not really,” Lup grinned, letting Taako lead her away. Kravitz could not control the blush that rose at the sight of Taako’s hips swaying, drawing his eye in a way that just had to be deliberate.

* * *

 

Smoke filled the top of the huge tent, spreading the colorful light into a kaleidoscope overhead as the crowd took their seats. Kravitz had been escorted by Angus, who had insisted that he had to get the best seat in the house because apparently, he had earned it after the trouble with the spell. He also admitted that he wanted to be able to find Kravitz at the end of the evening, so that he couldn’t easily sneak away, and warned in a way that was probably meant to be threatening, if not spoken by a ten year old child, that he would be watching.

The wait for the show to start was filled with music, generic and peaceful, the sort of tunes intended to keep the silence away whilst not distracting from the performance to come. Kravitz listened idly, able now to feel the magical influence that the bards enforced through it and shake it off readily. He couldn’t blame them for wanting protection against the undead – he had never met any undead beings with good intentions, after all – but it was concerning that it had affected others aside from him. It crossed his mind that he should probably check those it had affected for the effects of necromancy, before he reminded himself that he was meant to be vacationing and by the end of the night would have none of his reaper abilities.

The music faded first, rising again as a thrumming drum beat. Throughout the tent the voices of the crowd began to hush but did not fall silent until the lights suddenly dropped, and a singular spot was lit in the center of the ring.

“Ladies and gents this is the moment you’ve waited for.”

The disembodied voice was soon joined by a figure in the spotlight, short frame clothed in top hat and a red tail coat, a cane in his hands. The drum beat rose, joined by other instruments, and the ringmaster looked up from beneath his top hat to reveal a mischievous grin on the face of a perfectly presented gnome.

“Time for the impossible to come true, your dreams to take over you.” The gnome timed his words with practiced ease to the music, opening his arms as more instruments sprang to life and performers of all kinds emerged into the shadows at the back of the tent, all shapes and sizes, and parted to allow a pair of manticores to pass through, their handler stepping forth from the center of the hidden figures as the creatures circled the edges of the ring, coming dangerously close to the gasping crowd before a crack of his whip into the air called them back to his side, where they sat back on their haunches, wings opening as they roared, and the gnome ringmaster instantly disappeared from perception.

A sudden brush of leather against his cheek was the only warning Kravitz had as a dozen pseudodragons swept low over the heads of the audience to the beast keeper, whose arms opened wide as he turned in a circle, the tiny winged lizards turning mid air to form an organized V-shape together and in this formation make a lap of the crowd, occasionally releasing little bursts of flame close enough to the heads of the audience to make them duck out of the way.

Eyes drawn back to the central circle by the flight of the pseudodragons were met with a gigantic serpent, a Naga, coiling around the ring and raising up, its hood flaring on either side of its neck behind the beastmaster. Its jaw opened, but instead of poison spraying forth came a stream of colour as ribbons flew into the crowd instead, a wonder of transmutation magic that had the adults cheering once they recovered from the momentary fear and the children screaming as they gathered up as many of the ribbons as they could get their hands on.

The beastmaster gave a small bow as the Naga seemed to dissolve into smoke, wing beats gusting air over the head of the crowd once more as a group of four Pegasus took its place in the ring, joined swiftly by a halfling and a taller figure, one wearing the mask of a Ram and the other a Raven. As they vaulted onto the elegant beasts, the Pegasus took flight once more, and the figures began a show of aerial bravery, leaping from beast to beast in mid air, sometimes with the addition of conjured flames which they passed amidst fearlessly.

As the first tune ended, the Pegasus group flew upwards into the bank of fog overhead. There was almost a lull then, heavy drum beat fading but holding time. The music quietened too, emphasizing the silence from the crowd, all waiting with breaths held, enraptured by the performance so far.

More smoke billowed from above, falling lazily as though afflicted by a feather fall and blanketing an invisible barrier halfway between the crowd and the tent top. Kravitz found his eyes drawn, following with those of the crowd to sparks which flew across the unseen barrier, the whole a masterwork of prestidigitation on a scale that he had never before seen.

And then with heart stopping speed, a figure dropped from the smoke, and the music changed; the drums pounding now with twice their previous tempo as the crowd gasped as one at the free fall.

And then a second figure swept in from the fog, catching the first by the hand and swinging upwards with them, their legs holding the two securely to a trapeze as they disappeared into the fog once more.

Beneath, in the main ring, the light rose as a layer of fog that had swallowed the circle cleared and revealed a pair of elven acrobats performing stunts from the back of a rainbow colored binicorn. Above, the trapeze artists struck off again from their podium, their act spattered with magic, prestidigitation and flames.

Kravitz could not turn his eyes away from the lithe figures as they dropped daringly, heart in his throat when so often the twin trapeze artists escaped potential disaster with the aid of complex magics and absolute perfect synchronization in their performance.

It was only when they were finally stationary, their part in the show over far too quickly, and bowing to the crowd that he could be sure that he recognized the figures; the two elves from the cooking show earlier, Taako and Lup, divested of their ridiculous chef’s hats and colorful aprons, but unmissably them. They were clothed in skin-tight body suits, flame red and sapphire blue respectively, and their skin had been colored to match the suits.

The crowd gasped as both cast themselves from the podium without their trapeze bars, vanishing instantly from view when they reached the invisible barrier that had previously held back the fog. A round of applause followed, and the music ebbed once more as the scene changed again, and the next performers took to the stage. Kravitz recognized the muscled man he had seen with the child thief earlier in the day, accompanied by a woman who was evidently human, but had a beard a dwarf would be proud of. Together their feats of strength were as astonishing as any other aspect of the performance, culminating in them lifting a large concrete platform only for a wyvern to make a lap over the heads of the crowd and come to rest on the platform, its weight held above the two with apparent ease.

The show continued unabated for nearly an hour, keeping the crowed enraptured from start to finish. Kravitz forgot his racing heart, his gasping breathing, and embraced the snare that it offered. It was fire and freedom and filled with things he could never have imagined.

Too soon, it was over, and he was on his feet and applauding, cheering with the crowd as the performers spread around the central circle, surrounding the gnome ringmaster who lifted his cane as the others all bowed and seemingly called the wyvern from behind the stage, coming in to land behind the gathered performers and allowing the ringmaster to stand his light weight on its head so that he was balanced high over the performers, using his cane to gesture down at them as the applause continued.

As the performers gave their final bows and the adrenaline began to fade, Kravitz nearly stumbled back into his seat as senses honed over the centuries reacted with full force. What had, at the start of the night, been an ache in his bones, a warning, now screamed like the surrounding audience, tightening like a vice around his now mortal heart and lungs and almost stopping his breath.

Even in this mortal form, he was yet to lose his reaper senses. They lingered still, enough to see the faint fog gathered beneath the big top, not prestidigitation now but _emotion_ , raw and… harvested, for lack of a better word. Drawn out from the admiring public and siphoned down, the shape of the tent perfect to gather the fog above the bowing performers and allow it to be drawn down where it settled among the group.

He could not, with his mortal eyes, his senses imperfect and fading, tell which figure harvested the fog as it fell.

He was left frozen in his seat as the rest of the crowd began to finally file out of the big top, their third standing ovation answered only by the ringmaster.

He stayed, staring, until he was alone in the tent and Angus came rushing from backstage to question him.

Shaken as he was, his thoughts cycled back and forth between just two facts. First, this was, without a doubt, the greatest show that he had ever seen performed. Second, this show was, without shadow of a doubt, being used to feed the life force of a lich.


	2. Finding a Path

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz speaks with Angus and the Raven Queen, and interviews for a role in the show.

“Could… could we maybe do this in the morning?”

Kravitz nursed his first glass of liquor since he had returned to mortal life, turning it round in his hands but welcoming its burn as the alcohol scorched his throat. The boy that sat opposite him at the table frowned a little, his notepad sat open in front of him but still blank aside from Kravitz’s name.

“You won't be able to find us here in the morning, Sir,” Angus explained apologetically. “That’s the way of the Show, we’re always on the move. It’s one night only.”

Kravitz frowned at the glass, taking another sip when he thought his throat could survive it. He only had two hours, maybe a bit less, before his seven days were up and he would lose all contact with his Goddess. He was mortal, but he had found a lich. Maybe by chance, unless the Raven Queen knew about this when she suggested his vacation, but in mortal form he was powerless to do anything about it. He had to let her know about this before his time was up. He had no idea whether she would listen to his prayers, once he was just mortal.

“I suppose we have to do this now then,” he sighed, downing the last of the glass with a wince at the burn. “We’ll have to make it quick.”

“Is your head still hurting Sir? I can make you some more tea, if you’d rather.”

“Let’s just get this over with shall we?” he sighed. “What do you want to know?”

“I guess, if we’re making this really quick we could just go through the things that the others who were affected had in common?”

“That sounds sensible,” Kravitz agreed, refilling his glass from the bottle Angus had so thoughtfully left on the edge of the table.

“Some of the questions are quite personal, but it would really be helpful if you could answer as much as you can,” Angus warned. “I suppose we can start with what your class is?”

“Bard, I guess,” Kravitz shrugged, not sure what he would class himself since his death. Was reaper a class of its own?

“That makes sense,” Angus nodded, biting his lip. “It’s different to the others though, so that’s not it. Do you have any siblings?”

“I had a brother and a sister, older than me,” Kravitz wondered whether he should continue. “They died a while ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Sir.”

Kravitz waved it off. “It was a long time ago. Next question?”

“I suppose… it’s along the same lines,” Angus scribbled in shorthand in his notebook. “Do you have any living relatives?”

“None that I know of,” Kravitz shrugged to emphasize that the boy shouldn’t worry about that.

“Have you ever used any necromancy spells Sir?” Angus whispered the question. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, it’s just really important for the spell…”

“I haven’t,” Kravitz swore, shifting his suit jacket to reveal the token of the raven queen that hung around his neck, a circle of five solid silver raven feathers hanging from a fine chain. “I object to it on religious grounds, actually.”

“Have you had any recent contact with anyone who might have used necromancy, or anything that might be undead? Nothing?”

Only the lich that inhabited this fairground, but Kravitz did not suspect that news was something he wanted to break to a ten-year-old child. “None at all.”

“Do you have a home?”

“What does this have to do with the spell?” Kravitz wondered suspiciously. The boy had said that the questions would be personal, but he could not see what connection this would have.

“All the people who were affected by the spell before didn’t have a home,” Angus explained easily. “But if that was the cause, there would be lots of other people in the caravan who would be affected, I guess, so maybe we should just move on to the next question. Do you ever think that there’s a gap in your memory?”

“No? And no, I don’t have a home either. I’ve been staying at the inn in town until I get a place. Actually, I was thinking I might apply to join the show when I saw the sign.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful Sir! You were brilliant playing the violin!” Angus made his notes enthusiastically, shutting the notebook. “Is that why you need to hurry, Sir? Because I’m finished with my questions now, if you want me to show you where you can find Ringmaster Davenport.”

Kravitz hesitated. He needed to speak to the Raven Queen, and he had to do so quickly, but he definitely shouldn’t burn any bridges he had built with the carnival in case she asked him to investigate.

“I… need a bit of a break first?” he requested cautiously. Angus’s expression showed a flash of realization and sympathy before he nodded.

“Of course, it’s been a really long day for you hasn’t it? And after the spell as well…” He paused, considering. “You know, the show won’t be visible from the town tomorrow but we will actually still be here, taking down the tents and the rides. If you were to stay inside the boundaries, you would be able to speak to the Captain in the morning.”

“Captain?”

“Ringmaster Davenport,” Angus shrugged. “He likes to be called Captain when we’re not doing the show. It’s respectful, and I think maybe he was a sailor.”

Kravitz thought about it. On the one hand it could be difficult to get the privacy he would need to speak with the Raven Queen if he stayed with the caravan, not to mention he would have no place to sleep and he was weary. However, the risk of losing a lich was greater than considerations for his comfort. So long as he could get a place away from anyone to call upon his Goddess, he really should remain.

“Is there somewhere I could rest?” he asked, resolving that he would need to stay either way but glad when Angus nodded with enthusiasm.

“Yes, Sir, we always have a caravan ready for people have no where else to go, and one for new people who join the show too,” he grinned. “The one for new people should be completely free, I think Mister Magnus gave a homeless little girl the key for the other one earlier.”

“I saw that, actually, the strong man?”

“That’s Mister Magnus Sir,” Angus nodded. “Would you like me to show you the caravan?”

“If you’re sure it won’t be any bother?” Kravitz thought back on Taako scolding the boy. There hadn’t seemed to be any venom behind his teasing, but he knew that sometimes things could be different in families behind closed doors. “You won’t get in to trouble?”

“Of course not Sir,” Angus grinned, taking his hand to lead him through the now quiet tents and caravans, a few figures still outside clearing up and setting up the camp for the night. Along the track Kravitz saw the beast master, a tall drow, with his bugbear assistant carrying buckets full of raw meat towards their menagerie. Further along was the strong man Magnus and the bearded lady, drinking tankards of beer with an older looking dwarf who had a few stray leaves stuck in his hair. A few of the band were also taking drinks around a fire nearby.

Angus led him away to a caravan at the edge of the show, activating the lights with an accomplished but effortful prestidigitation.

“Maybe I could come with you to speak to the Captain tomorrow?” Angus suggested before he left. “Having someone from the show to vouch for you might help.”

“I think that might be a good idea,” Kravitz agreed. “Thank you.”

As soon as the child was gone Kravitz wasted no time in retrieving five raven’s feathers from his bag and setting them out on top of the bed, the only sufficiently sized surface in the small space to arrange the components for this ritual. He was not sure how effective it would be once his reaper abilities faded, so he rushed as much as he could to set out the candles and cast the magics to speak with his Queen.

_“My dearest reaper, it has been less than a week_ ,” the Goddess scolded him. She had taken form in the center of the ring of feathers in the form of a many eyed raven, but flew to his shoulder as soon as the form was fully solid.

“I am sorry, my Queen,” he flinched. He did not wish to seem ungrateful for this time she had granted him. “I fear I have grave news, that could not wait until I am once again at your hand.”

Her beak ruffled through his braids, pecking at the shiny beads that held their ends. Over the years he had grown used to her fussing over him when she was in this form, grooming him like a chick. He tolerated it patiently. “ _Dear Kravitz, you are not the only reaper in my retinue. Surely whatever your news, another of your brothers can handle it?”_

“I am sure they can, but I’m not sure whether they even know of this threat?” he sighed as her beak plucked at his earlobe sharply. “Of course, my Queen, I do not doubt your ability to know the happenings of your domain, only… I don’t remember ever seeing this carnival mentioned in the list of bounties?”

“ _Indeed it is not,”_ she agreed. _“What have you come upon?”_

“There are… signs… of a lich here,” he hesitated, wishing his senses had been keener, that he would be able to tell her more. “Feeding on the joy of the show.”

“ _All liches should appear in the book of bounties,”_ she mused, skeptical. “ _You are certain of this?”_

“I am,” he spoke with conviction. “I saw the feeding with my own eyes.”

_“This is indeed grave news. Though perhaps not as terrible as it seems,”_ she surprised him as she went back to fussing with his braids, hopping across his back and onto his other shoulder.

“How so, my Queen?”

_“For a lich to evade my detection, they must inhabit mortal form,”_ she told him easily. _“It is almost unheard of for a lich to form without losing their own mortal body, but if they do so and do not kill as a part of the ritual, they remain the property of Istus until such time as their physical form comes to its mortal end.”_

Kravitz was startled. He had never heard of such a rule; had thought that the Raven Queen in her abhorrence of undeath would not suffer for any lich to walk upon the Earth. She seemed to hear his thoughts, giving a tug at one of his braids.

_“This is a closely held secret, and I will not suffer for you to spread the word beyond this conversation,”_ she scolded him. _“It would only encourage more necromancers to attempt the ritual. It does complicate things when a lich inhabits a body that is not their own. They are more difficult to track that way. It will be important to know whether the lich that travels with this caravan has their own form or a stolen one. Do you know who the lich might be?”_

“Not yet,” he thought for a moment, recalling what the elves and Angus had mentioned about others having been affected by the control undead enchantment this Mister Hallwinter-Bluejeans had created. “But I might have some leads…”

_“You are on vacation!”_ the raven pecked the side of his head with her sharp beak. _“I will assign a reaper to investigate. They will liaise with you for any information that you come upon, but I would prefer if you take this time for yourself and let your brothers handle this lich.”_

“Is that an order, my Queen?”

The raven cawed, a laugh. _“Not even I can hope to order you not to work, dear Kravitz. I do hope you will at least keep yourself safe?”_

“I will… try,” Kravitz promised, getting one more tug to his hair for his honesty before the raven flapped back across into the circle.

_“Do at least make an effort to live, Kravitz.”_

A gust of wind blew through the inside of the caravan, casting the five raven feathers asunder and extinguishing the candles on the bed. The Raven Queen was gone.

Kravitz gathered each of the components, returning them to his bag with care as he thought about how he was going to proceed. His Goddess wanted him to leave well alone, but that simply was not in his nature. Besides, it had been his intention to seek employment with this show, even before he had found out about the lich. If he remained here to practice his craft as a bard, there was nothing stopping him from finding out what he could about the lich whilst he did.

Spending some short time with the Raven Queen had re-invigorated him, and though it had been a very long day he no longer felt so tired. He remained awake later into the night, quietly tinkering with his instruments and composing a short piece of music befitting the atmosphere of the fair, all the better for if he were asked to perform for his place in the show the next day.

* * *

 

The knocking upon his door startled him awake before the light began to pierce through the curtains. Kravitz forced his eyes open with great effort, conjuring dancing lights over the ceiling with an idle hum to light his way to the door. Angus was waiting, fully dressed and impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Good morning Sir!”

“What… what time is it?” Kravitz tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, looking to the red horizon where the sun was only just rising.

“We start early on a moving day, Sir,” Angus sounded apologetic. “I suppose I forgot to tell you… I’m sorry, Sir, I’ll come back when you’re ready…”

“No, no… give me a few minutes, I’ll be out.”

Closing the door behind him and blinking excessively, Kravitz hurried to dress, neatening the rumpled items with swift prestidigitation and hoping that the show would have somewhere he could shower later. His braids took little tending, a quick brush through with his fingers forcing them to lay straighter after he fixed the one bead that had come loose from the raven’s beak the night before. He wished he had a mirror to check how he looked for what promised to be an important day. It was so much easier to just be able to switch into his skeletal form and re-emerge as perfectly presented as he liked.

“Thank you for waiting,” he pocketed his bag of holding, keeping the violin case out so that he would not have to reveal that secret for his interview.

“It was no problem Sir,” Angus grinned. “We should hurry though, Captain Davenport is meeting with one of the investors in an hour so if we leave it much longer he might not be able to see you.”

Kravitz was impressed by the industriousness of the people they passed as he hurried after Angus. Even the beast master, late to rest the night before, was gathering supplies for his creatures, a clutch of five cockatrice scurrying along after him as he tossed scraps of meat their way, crooning to them as a mother would. Others were in process of taking down tents, those taking down the largest structures aided by a huge robotic creation with a panel labelled NO 3113.

Angus led him to the big top, where a table had been set in the ring. The gnome, no longer in top hat and tails but still formally suited, was engaged in a heated conversation with a pair of elves Kravitz recognized from the show the day before – a male and a female, similar enough to be siblings or perhaps non-identical twins.

“If we did our act separately to the other two we would get more recognition,” the male elf was arguing.

“I have no doubt that is true,” the Captain was taking a diplomatic tone. “But you know why I can’t make that possible. This is a conversation that you need to be having with Taako.”

“You could make Taako change his mind,” the female elf pressed.

“Or get Brian to find train us a different horse,” the male added.

“Now, you have tried that before,” Davenport reminded them. “You remember how badly that went? Garyl puts up with a lot more than a normal horse would, and Garyl is Taako’s creation. Until you can cast the spell yourselves, you will be reliant on Taako for your act and I will not get involved in your negotiations on the matter. If you resolve this with him, I will gladly look at the ordering of the performance and find you a more suitable slot, but until then things will stay as they are.”

“But…”

“There has to be…”

“Edward. Lydia… I’m sure you have as busy a day as I have,” Davenport spoke pointedly, dismissing them. “Come, it appears that there is a line forming. I can be of no further help to you this day.”

The twin elves followed the Captain’s eye to Kravitz and Angus, both flushing with embarrassment as they realized they had been overheard. Angus averted his eyes, seeming to become smaller for a moment until they had passed. Kravitz took note of the boy’s posture with some concern.

“So, you must be the bard Angus was telling me about?” the Captain rose to greet Kravitz, offering a hand to shake, his manners formal and suiting the long-lived reaper’s sensibilities.

“I suppose I am,” Kravitz shook the offered hand, surprised by the gnome’s powerful grasp – a habit of someone who was used to being the one in command and not to be messed with. “Good things, I hope?”

“Indeed,” Davenport gestured for him to sit, taking his own seat and bringing them a little closer to a similar height so that he did not have to crane his neck. “I am a busy man, so we must regrettably make this quick. I find myself interviewing lots of bards. Why should we hire you? What sets you apart from the rest?”

Kravtiz thought hard for a moment, thinking of an honest answer that the gnome would not have heard before and eventually concluding he didn’t have one. “There is nothing I can promise you that you have not heard before, I am sure. I possess no unique talent. I do play many instruments, I have a little magic, and I compose pieces? Perhaps I could show you…”

“There will be no need,” Davenport waved away the offer. “Word has reached me of your impromptu performance yesterday. All of it rather complimentary.”

Kravitz flushed. “Forgive me, it was not my intent to cause any disturbance…”

“There were also whispers of an individual being affected by one of our protection spells. The two don’t happen to have a connection, do they?” Davenport leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. Kravtiz hesitated; if he admitted the control undead spell had affected him, surely that would be a black mark against hiring him? He did not want to lie, since the Captain would find out at some point anyway and a lie might lead to him being thrown out just as swiftly.

“I am afraid so,” he shrugged reluctantly. “Though the young detective has been trying to resolve why the spell affected me.”

Davenport sat back in his chair, looking him over seriously. “That is a mystery. Intriguing. If anyone can resolve it, I am confident that Angus will do so. Have there been any lingering effects?”

“I don’t think so.”

“And Angus,” Davenport waved the boy across. “You suggested that you might have an idea of a job for Master Kravitz here?”

“I thought maybe he could play for Mister Taako and Miss Lup’s show?” Angus offered. “They always have the silence curtains up, so there is no music in the cookery theatre.”

“Have you discussed this with them?”

“I… have not,” Angus admitted. “But I think they liked Mister Kravitz when they met him yesterday – they were teasing him a lot.”

Captain Davenport paused to think for a minute, finally sighing. “Who will you be leaving behind to come with us?”

“I have no one,” Kravitz admitted.

“No family? No children waiting at home?”

“No one,” he reiterated, and Davenport slapped the table with a laugh.

“Angus, why didn’t you say so?” he hopped off his chair, extending a hand to Kravitz. “Welcome aboard, Master Kravitz.”

“I… thank you,” Kravitz shook his hand, surprised but happy with the outcome. Davenport ushered him outside, walking with them in a quick tour of the showground.

“We have rules here. You can stay as long as you follow them. You can have as much time as you need to find your feet, but the sooner you find your place and earn your keep, the better for the show as a whole,” Davenport told him. “If you want to stick with the bardic arts, we do have an opening for a composer. Our last left us a few months back. Got a better offer from one of our investors. The other bards have control over who gets to fill that place, so if you want it I would suggest you speak with their band as soon as possible. They can be a close-knit group, but they recognize talent when they see it.”

“Of course, the show is only one day a week. The day before is setting up, the day after to take down. We spend three days travelling between locations, and the seventh day is a rest day before we set up again. You will need to find yourself something to do on each of the days. This is not the place for someone lazy – you don’t seem the type to hang around and be bored, though, so I think you should be fine. Do you have anything else you do, other than play?”

Kravitz thought on what he could suggest, remembered how the strong man had dealt with the young pickpocket. “I have some experience as a peace keeper?”

“Ah, well, that’s something,” Davenport nodded. “I’ll set you up with Magnus, he’ll soon tell you if you suit the job. Now, we must talk about pay. I do hope you were not expecting to get rich quickly here? If so, this might not be the job for you. The money from the night performances is collected together and much of this goes towards upkeep of the show. Whatever is left over is distributed between everyone in the camp, but it’s not a lot. However, you don’t have to pay room and board, and if you eat in the camp you get your meals for free. Really, the only time you would need money is on the rest day, when you are free to go into town and spend it if you so fancy. The daytime shows are all individual, and the performers pay in ten percent to the show’s fund but otherwise that’s how most people make some additional income. If Taako and Lup take you on it will be up to you to negotiate a share of the earnings from their performances.”

“That sounds fair,” Kravitz agreed. “I didn’t come here for the money. The chance to practice my craft with the very best is more than enough.”

“They all say that at first, but everyone gets bored eventually,” Davenport chuckled. “You will take the job then?”

“I will… although, may I ask you something Captain?” Kravitz wondered as they came back round full circle, approaching the opening of the big top where they would part ways. “Why did you make your decision so quickly when you found out I didn’t have a family?”

“Well, I don’t like to take anyone away from their home,” Davenport looked contemplative. “I dislike the thought that some may never return, and their parents, spouses, children might never know what happened to their loved ones… besides, this isn’t just a place for performers. When the show started, it was created as a place for those who had no where else to go. The lost, the desperate. Those who had no one to remember them, and those who remembered no one.”

As they approached the mouth of the big top, a figure stepped into view. Dressed in a long blue cloak, her silver grey hair catching the morning sunlight, a human woman smiled at Davenport as he approached. Davenport waved to her, a gesture more casual than his usual. Kravitz thought the two must be friendly.

“I fear I am running late for my meeting, and must leave you,” the Captain told Kravitz apologetically. “In Angus’ capable hands?”

Sheepishly the young detective stepped out from behind a tent. He must have been following them all the way around the camp, but Kravitz hadn’t noticed. The boy must have a fantastic stealth modifier.

“Good luck with the Taaco twins,” Davenport offered as a parting gesture, doffing his hat before going to meet with the woman who must be the show’s investor.


	3. Not the necromancer you're looking for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz is introduced to a few more members of the show, takes a job, and can't quite seem to get away from being a reaper just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; Did I mention since this is has so much Kravitz in it, I’ve created a character sheet for mortal Kravitz complete with everything a bard with a few Godly connections might need, and will be using this in any conflict (and those of the TAZ PC’s) to resolve this the proper D&D way with rolls for the outcome of every action? (So long as it doesn't destroy plot points)

Angus told him that the Taacos were not early risers, and that there would be hell to pay if they tried to speak with them before noon. Instead he guided Kravitz to a large caravan, the contents of which had spilled out over the surrounding grasses. On the tables were all manner of carved objects, mainly ducks in various stages of completion, and working at one of them was the strong man Magnus, shirtless despite the cool morning air. He was humming to himself, an off key tune that was intended for his own ears only, and painstakingly painting a pink spotted baby blue duck carving.

“Mister Magnus, I’m sorry to interrupt you Sir, Captain Davenport wanted me to bring Mister Kravitz to meet you,” Angus hovered at the edges of the circle of tables, waiting to be invited in. “He’s going to be working with Mister Taako and Miss Lup on Sizzle it up!”

“Hey Angus, where’s my hug?” Magnus set the duck down right away, opening his arms invitingly for the boy to rush and jump into before spinning him around in the air. Angus latched his arms tightly around his neck, laughing. The huge man set the boy down carefully, ruffling his hair before he looked to Kravitz. “So, new boy huh? How’re you finding the place?”

“It’s…” Kravitz hesitated, not sure that he had the words. “Different. In a good way I mean… sorry, that wasn’t very eloquent.”

“Nah, different‘s a good word for it,” Magnus seconded. “Guess it takes a bit of getting used to. Show’s grown like a weed, can’t imagine I’d be brave enough to join this chaos if I hadn’t been here when it was small. What brings you my way?”

“The Captain suggested you were the person to talk to about security?” Kravitz was still hesitating on the edge of the circle of tables, having not been invited in. Magnus took pity on him, pulling over a carved wooden chair to the corner of the table he was doing his work on and going back to painting the duck while he spoke.

“I guess so,” he agreed. “If that’s your thing. Forgive me for saying but you don’t really look the type?”

Kravitz glanced down at himself in his formal suit, prestidigitated so that it was without a single crease. He didn’t look like much of a fighter, true, but that hadn’t really mattered when he was a reaper.

“I suppose my talents lie more in magic,” he had to agree. “But I do have some experience in using it in fights, and for investigations.”

“An unusual background to have,” Magnus considered, not pushing him to say any more than he offered freely. “To be honest I usually just borrow Merle if I need a zone of truth or two, though, beyond that I’m not sure what you could add?”

“Well, I suppose you might still need to borrow Merle if you want a zone of truth, but I can detect magic, and sinister thoughts? In addition I can detect if someone is nervous, even if they don’t look that way outwardly,” Kravitz ran through the spells that he knew, the practice of them a little rusty after so long using his reaper abilities.

“Can you tell what I’m thinking right now?” Magnus looked curious and expectant, so Kravitz began to hum his focusing tune and cast detect thoughts.

“You’re thinking that those spells actually sound useful,” he was happy to find, and pushed just a little deeper. Magnus frowned, able to feel but not rolling high enough to resist his probing. “You’re wondering what to get your wife Julia for your date night tonight, it’s your anniversary at the weekend – congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Magnus shook his head physically as if that would help him shake off the spell, which Kravitz had already dropped. “That’s a bit creepy, you know?”

“I don’t make a habit of it,” Kravitz laughed. “I promise your secrets will stay safe with me.”

“Hmm. Thanks. I suppose it would be useful to have someone with a bit of magic on the security team,” Magnus considered. “But the work isn’t exactly busy, except on show day and then you’ll be working with the twins, right? I mean, I’d be happy to have you on the staff but really it’s a part time gig. We might have to find you something else to do for when everyone’s behaving themselves.”

“I’d be very open to that idea,” Kravitz agreed, gladly shaking on the offer. For a man with such powerful muscles, Magnus was very conscious of his strength and his handshake was gentle, calloused fingers rough but careful.

“Are you any good at woodwork, or painting?” Magnus wondered, gesturing to the extensive collection of wooden ducks.

“Abysmal I’m afraid,” Kravitz shrugged regretfully. “Maybe a little better at painting than carving.”

“Well, get a brush, you can still do the base coats whilst I get to know you,” Magnus pushed a duck in his direction, starting to add details on one that already had a green base coat.

Angus took the opportunity to join in, and soon the three were making small talk which continued happily for an hour or so, never straying beyond comfortable topics. Kravitz got the impression that people with troubled backgrounds were familiar to the show, and Magnus at least was happy to let people keep those stories to tell when they felt ready. This was helpful for him, since he had so little he could say honestly without just declaring himself a reaper.

They parted when the bearded lady Julia came to collect Magnus, Kravitz averting his eyes respectfully when the two kissed. Magnus made some quick introductions but they were both needed to move some of the heavier items from the dismantled carousel into their travel crates, and they hurried away shortly after, leaving Kravitz with Angus.

“Do you think Taako and Lup will be awake yet?” Kravitz was at a loss for what else they could do if not, so was thankful when Angus nodded.

“They should be Sir, they’re meant to be taking down the big top soon,” he glanced back over his shoulder at the huge tent that remained standing whilst the rest of the fair was steadily dismantled. “We could go watch?”

“That sounds good,” the ex-reaper agreed, allowing himself to be dragged along by the hand by the excited boy.

Around the huge tent four elves had arranged themselves at the twelve, three, six and nine o’clock positions and were calling across to one another, coordinating prior to casting their spells. In addition to Taako and Lup, Kravitz recognized Edward and Lydia.

Once they were ready, all at the same time they cast their spells and the base of the huge tent began to roll up. They had to pause a few times when one of the elves was a little too slow with their levitation and the roll became looser at one side than the other, mainly Edward and Lydia making this mistake and slowing down the process, but the whole thing was practiced and polished enough to be completed in less than ten minutes, which for a task of this scale was truly astonishing. Not for the first time Kravitz was left wondering at the power of the group of wizards that called the Show home.

“Watch this too,” Angus tugged at his sleeve, pointing him to one of the many legs of the structure that had held up the tent. A human man was activating a panel there, and when he stepped away the whole thing seemed to come to life like a truly gigantic spider, bending and flexing its many limbs and folding them under itself. A clip at the top unfastened, and the structure folded in again until all that was left was a single block of metal bars, all neatly laid parallel with each other. Magnus moved this stack to a six horse drawn trailer, whilst Julia folded the rolled up big top to place into another with four horses.

Taako and Lup had spotted them when their task was done, and the pair skipped their way across, somehow managing to cross the grass without getting tall stiletto heels stuck in the ground. In different clothing and with their hair fixed differently than the day before, Kravitz was uncertain for a moment which of the twins was which, such was their similarity, until he recalled that the umbrella held in the hand of the twin on the left had belonged to Lup.

“Decided to stick around, stiff?” Taako looked pointedly over his formal suit, raising a shaped eyebrow.

“Bit of mind control didn’t scare you off?” Lup tipped her head as she looked him over as well. “Respect for that. Kinky.”

“Holding out hope for some more Taako time?” the elf unlinked his arm from his sister’s, invading Kravitz’s personal space and looping long arms around his neck, manicured nails running along his scalp between the dreads. “Maybe I could be convinced to get you out of that suit. Your fashion sense is appalling, even if it does make your rear all peachy.”

Kravitz was frozen, realizing that he probably should be pushing Taako away and lifting his hands to the elf’s wrists only to pause when long nails traced along the back of his neck and sent a very pleasant shiver all the way down his spine.

“What are you…” he trailed off as Taako did it again, smirking mischievously when Kravitz’s words became an ineffectual stammer. “d…doing?”

“Mister Taako?” Angus sounded hesitant to interrupt, but Taako leapt away as if he had been burned, staring at the boy as if he had forgotten the child was present. Kravitz tugged at his suit jacket to neaten it and as an excuse to avoid looking at Taako or Lup, feeling extremely awkward and a little overwhelmed.

“What’s the schtick bubelah?” the elf’s expression changed back to a grin, the surprised look gone as quickly as it appeared. “I hope you’re not planning to make a habit out of bringing suits home with people in them.”

“Captain Davenport said Mister Kravitz could join the show,” Angus told Taako, restored to his enthusiasm. “I told him that you were looking for someone to play background music for Sizzle It Up and…”

“Kid, what the fu-uck?” Taako’s voice raised an octave for the second part of the word. “It’s Sizzle It Up with Lup and Taako, no one else. Never. Nope. Nada.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Lup tugged on Taako’s high ponytail. “Maybe with a bit of eye candy around you’ll shut up a bit about a certain friend of _mine_.”

“Agnes, kiddo, you can’t go making decisions like this!” Taako blustered, his tone unchanged but Kravitz, watching the interaction from a little further away, thought he could see a bit of genuine panic in his eyes. “High fashion like this doesn’t come cheap you know, how are we meant to pay fiddle boy and keep up _the look_? Did you even think about that?”

“Not to mention it would make a one night stand awkward,” Lup pointed out to her twin regardless of the child stood right there.

“If I might interject,” Kravitz began, hesitating when both elves glared at him, as if he had no right to be a part of this conversation even thought it was about him. “I don’t need the money, especially not if it’s going to cause a problem. I’m sure I can make do with what the show pays…”

“The show pay’s shit,” Taako interrupted.

“Even so, I have some spare saved up, enough to get by until I can earn more, maybe sell some compositions to the show? Honestly, right now I’d just be grateful for the chance to play my music somewhere that isn’t the local pub or on the streets.”

Taako all but snarled at him, but Lup punched her brother on the arm.

“Eye candy and free? Well that settles it then, you’re definitely hired.”

“Lup…” Taako still had that look in his eye, but she just punched him again.

“Not everyone’s a piece of shit, Taako,” she scolded, quietly enough that Kravitz was sure he was meant to ignore it even though he could clearly hear it. “It’s fine, I won’t let it happen again, chill.”

Her blunt words were belied by her expression, which did look genuinely concerned, and she did interlink her arm with his again to tug him to her side before pointing the tip of her umbrella right at Kravitz’s face.

“If you fuck us over I _will_ cast fireball right in your face and dance on your grave,” she spoke with a pleasant tone before dragging her twin away. Kravitz was left frozen, trying to work out what had just happened.

“It’s okay Sir, she doesn’t mean it,” Angus soothed. “Well, she does, kinda, but not if you don’t hurt anyone I guess? It’s just complicated.”

“I… figured,” Kravitz sighed, shrugging helplessly.

“On the bright side, you’re part of the team now!”

That’s right, Lup had said that he was hired. If it hadn’t been so important that he stay with this show to investigate the potential lich, he would be having second thoughts about this whole deal by this point. Though at first glance he seemed fierce, Taako seemed like he might be all bluster, but Lup… Lup made him uncomfortable. She was a force to be reckoned with and he didn’t like to think what would happen if he did get on the wrong side of her.

“Alright,” he clapped his hands together, resolving that he would have plenty of time to dwell on the somewhat scary elf twins later. “Where next?”

“I thought maybe I could take you to meet Mister Hallwinter? I’m sure he’d really like to talk to you, with his spell affecting you and everything, if that’s alright with you Sir?”

“Alright,” Kravitz agreed. What did he have to lose – so long as there wasn’t a zone of truth around when this unknown spell smith asked his questions, he might as well get this inevitable conversation over with.

One look at the man in question, once Angus had led Kravitz to the outskirts of the back edge of the showground, and Kravitz could understand Taako’s nickname for him. Blue jeans aside, the man was also wearing a denim jacket over a plaid shirt and… were those denim trainers? Kravitz hadn’t known such a thing existed, and having seen them, resolved that they definitely should not.

The man was lounging in a hammock – denim, dear Queen was that really a denim hammock? He was reading and looked entirely innocent until Kravitz was close enough to see the title of the book, bile rising in his throat as he read the title; Danse Macabre. The name of an unpleasant necromantic enchantment that would certainly gain some attention from the Raven Queen and, whilst not on its own granting a one-way ticket to the Eternal Stockade, at least count in favour of that direction. This book did not appear to be a factual account with relation to the spell, however, if the picture on the front was anything to go by – more an insensitively named romance. Or, on second glance at the cover, Kravitz really hoped that the named spell was not involved in the scene it depicted.

“Mister Hallwinter?” Kravitz questioned when Angus didn’t immediately rush the man. Wildly flailing the denim clad man startled so badly that he squeaked and threw the book into the air, soaring high over Kravitz’s head. He thought quickly, catching it with a mage hand before it could land on its intended path straight to Angus’s forehead. The man was not as lucky as his book and he landed on the floor beneath the hammock with a muffled ‘oof’. “Are… are you alright?”

Kravit tried desperately not to laugh or crack a smile as Bluejeans tried to get up, only to slip on the unfastened shoelace of his denim trainer. Now t _hat_ was a natural one if he’d ever seen one.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that! Here I am minding my own business and then you… oh, hello, I haven’t met you before?” Hallwinter blinked at him behind think lensed glasses that looked just a bit too large for his face, the rims matching the blue of the denim. “You wouldn’t happen to be the one Lu… Taako mentioned, the one who was affected by my spell?”

“As it happens I am,” Kravitz’s sensibilities told him he should be offering a hand to shake, but instead he proffered the distasteful book in the mage hand. “Angus here thought you might like to speak to me about it?”

“That… yes, yes, I mean, that would be brilliant! Would you like to come in for some coffee? I have decaff if you’d rather. Oh, and none of this Mister Hallwinter, that’s my father’s name, you must call me Barry.”

“Kravitz.”

“Yes, sh… they told me,” Barry led the two of them into his caravan, bustling to put the kettle on the stove. Angus followed him in without hesitation, but Kravitz froze in the doorway, jaw dropping.

This place was a necromancer’s _dream._ The surfaces that were not used for a specific function were absolutely covered in body parts – mostly bones, but some pickling jars held more disturbing items, mainly hands and hearts. A jar of bone dust, and another of graveyard dirt, and a tiny silver cage proved that the interest was not only theoretical. Necromantic spell components were not the kind of thing people kept around the house lightly.

Barry must have noticed his horror, because he sighed heavily and approached Kravitz with hands held up in the universal gesture of innocence.

“Sorry, sorry, I should have warned you I guess? I promise I’m not going to pickle your brain or anything, it’s just a hobby.”

“This… this is a hobby?”

Barry looked resigned. “Okay, maybe a _little_ more than a hobby, but I don’t go around raising the dead or anything and I won’t hurt you, okay? Look, we can talk outside if that’ll make you more comfortable…”

Kravitz frowned at the necromancer, overcoming his shock and trying to figure him out. He looked innocent enough, but that didn’t mean anything. Could it really be that simple, could Barry be the lich?

“Are you in the show? I don’t remember seeing you?”

Whilst Barry looked surprised by the unexpected change of topic, he smiled with relief. “Uh, no, not the big top performance. I deal more with the magic side of things and I do a lot of research as well.”

He couldn’t be the lich then, since the emotional drain had very definitely been going right to the central point in the tent. Still, Barry unnerved him far more than a man in triple denim had the right to. Whatever reaper was assigned to this show was going to have a feast of bounties to collect.

“When you say research…?”

“Oh, this and that,” he evaded, looking uncomfortable. Kravtiz was acutely aware of his mortality, and decided it was better in this case if he didn’t push. If he could win the necromancer over, maybe he would spill his secrets anyway. “Mainly improving the technology for Lucas’s animatronics, have you seen his tent?”

“I didn’t,” Kravitz admitted; he had seen one of the machines, labelled NO 3113, taking down the tents but he had not investigated the rest when the show was built up. He made a mental note to check the next week.

“They’re fascinating, Lucas has such a mind for the arcane, he doesn’t have any magic himself but he can create the most spectacular constructs. They sustain themselves and the amount of magic they need to start their animation is absolutely negligible, level one spell slot for most of them, and he’s working on…” Barry hesitated, seeming to think better of his gushing. “More stuff. Chamomile or chai?”

Kravitz assumed he meant the tea. “Either…”

“Great,” Barry cut him off before he could ask anything else. “So, about this spell?”

Kravitz tolerated being questioned for as long as it took to finish four cups of various different teas. Barry was more interested in what it felt like to be under the spell than what might have led to it targeting him. Kravitz was glad; he didn’t want to try to talk around the fact that he was an emissary for the raven queen with a necromancer. It would be too easy to make a slip of the tongue and give himself away.

Between being grilled about the spell Barry tended to get side-tracked. His train of thought would derail and he would start asking Kravitz about his music (and other hobbies that he had to make up then and there). He seemed genuinely interested rather than fishing for information, and Kravitz was discomforted that the man seemed to actually be a pretty decent guy if one could overlook the necromancy.

Angus didn’t seem at all disturbed by the dead things in the caravan. The boy had taken keen interest in their conversation at first, taking notes in his book, but had himself been side-tracked into playing with a strange puzzle, trying to match up the colours on the sides of a cube by spinning the edge pieces.

A knock on the door eventually broke their friendly chatter, the show’s messenger staff come to inform them that they would be moving within the hour. Kravitz found himself helping Barry fold away the denim hammock before they said farewell and Angus took him to Captain Davenport’s tent.

“You can help us pick the next town!” the boy had enthused, dragging him by the hand and barging in on a group of the performers seated and surrounding a map. The Captain glanced up but did not scold him. Taako waved enthusiastically with a smile before his expression turned stern and he pointed to the empty space at his side. Angus pulled Kravitz right across the middle of the tent shamelessly to sit him in that saved place, launching himself into Taako’s lap.

“Where’ve you been all day?” Taako wondered, ruffling the boy’s already dishevelled curls.

“Showing Mister Kravitz around Sir,” Angus grinned.

Taako leaned in, close to the boy’s face. “Is he your new favourite?”

“Except for you and Miss Lup, Sir.”

“Shit, bubelah, just you wait till I tell Mango,” Taako laughed, glancing to Kravitz with a puzzling expression. “Still sticking round?”

“That would be the plan.”

“Better be. Ango likes you now,” The colourful wizard dropped a wand from out of his long sleeve into his hand. “Lup’s not the only one who’ll hurt you if you upset the kid.”

“Duly noted,” Kravitz couldn’t help but smile, though he looked away to hide it from the elf. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Angus was extraordinarily well loved amongst the members of the caravan, but especially Taako. Absently he wondered if the boy had a family – he wasn’t an elf, so he wasn’t Taako’s biological child – or if he was another of those who were lost and given shelter by the show.

“We don’t have many options for our next location,” the Captain concluded, lifting the map to show them all. He had neatly drawn a circle encompassing all locations they could travel to within the required timeframe. Most of the towns within were very small, much smaller than this one, but one obvious location stood out from the rest. “Looks like we’re probably headed for Phandolin. Anyone opposed?”

The group were silent.

“No one with long lost family there? No one wanted by the militia?” everyone remained silent. “Well, that’s a first… Phandolin it is. Taako, Edward, would you do the honours?”

The two male elves both made identical movements of their hands, magic converging on the map and then sparking outwards from their location in the direction of Phandolin. They continued their spell for only a few minutes before nodding to the Captain.

“Clock’s started.”

“Alright, everyone, back to your caravans and hitch up. Best get a move on,” the gnome waved the majority away but called Kravitz back. “The caravans aren’t designed to hold more than two people, so you won’t be able to stay with Taako and Lup, especially since Angus already stays with them. Fortunately, I have the solution!”

The Captain gestured to a stranger waiting nearby, who called to someone else out in the mess of the camp. At that cue a slightly smaller caravan than Barry’s, pulled by two horses, made its way through the mass of moving people and came to a stop before them.

“We always try to keep a spare around,” Davenport looked it over. The caravan was shabby, functional but needing at least a coat of paint if not more. “Bit of a mess, but it’s a blank canvas you can decorate however you would like. For as long as you stay with the show, this is yours.”

“Mine?” Kravitz gawped. Not only was he extraordinarily touched by the gesture, he couldn’t help but think that this was the first and only thing that he would have that was truly his in this life; after all everything he had in his bag of holding was technically the possession of the Raven Queen that she was permitting him the use of. “I… thank you.”

“I did tell you there would be accommodation?” Davenport looked perplexed. Kravitz did remember that, but he hadn’t thought it would mean his own caravan. “When we stop off in Phandolin I’ll make sure you get an advance on your wage so that you can get what you need for the decoration. It might take a while. If you need anything built you could always speak with Magnus – did you get a chance to see him today?”

“I did, and I’m going to join him when needed for the security team,” he was glad to be able to show that he had not been idle. “Unfortunately, Magnus didn’t think it would be much use for me to do security full time, so I’m still looking for something else.”

“Hmm,” Davenport frowned. “Well, if I were you I wouldn’t rush into it. There are some security operations that require more than just Magnus rushing in. We have a team that deal with bigger problems. Maybe you could ask Magnus to line up a training session, so that you can work out where you fit into the dynamic? Better that than messing things up when there’s a real emergency.”

“Thank you, I will suggest it,” he hadn’t known that. He wondered why Magnus hadn’t mentioned it. “Who’s on the team?”

“Well Magnus, of course. Taako, as our most powerful battle-able wizard. Lup, but only when no one’s worried about collateral damage,” Davenport gave him a meaningful look. “Merle, because he’s pretty much our only healer, and if things start to look like they might have anything to do with undeath they can’t keep Sildar away. Knowing Taako you might have been introduced to him as Barry?”

Kravitz nodded, not trusting his voice not to betray his thoughts regarding the necromancy issue. The Captain was too perceptive for him, noticing the token of the Raven Queen around his neck which must have been shaken loose from under his shirt at some point. He looked very serious.

“We do not allow personal life choices to harm others here, Kravitz. If you cannot work with Barry I will need you to seek alternate employment, whether that be here or elsewhere. He is one of our own.”

“I can work with him,” Kravitz promised. Having spoken with the man for so long that day he was confident that was the truth. However, “I don’t have to approve of his choices, but I can… tolerate them, and I will not treat him poorly for it.”

“Good, good,” he still looked a little suspicious. Kravitz tucked the token of the Raven Queen away, shrugging nonchalantly. “Do be careful Kravitz. Sildar was one of the original members of the circus. If I hear that you have caused him any bother, you will be out of here before you can blink.”

“Hey Cap’n’port, threat’s only scary when you have the power to back it up,” Taako’s arms suddenly looped around Kravitz’s shoulders, his six-inch heels making him stretch only a little to rest his chin on Kravitz’s suited shoulder. “Hurt Barold, hurt all of us bird boy.”


	4. Degrees of Separation

Taako was very bad at respecting personal space. Kravitz had come to this conclusion around the campfire after several glasses fantasy Tequila and orange juice, with the elf sprawled loosely across the laps of Edward, Magnus and himself.

None of the others seemed in the least bit phased, so he supposed this must be a common occurrence for the elf, but the high heels were digging into his leg and he was sure he would have bruises in the morning. It was very tempting to move, but the only time he had tried to do so one of those high heels had nearly stabbed him in such a location that he decided it wasn’t worth it.

Magnus was lucky; in the middle of the three he was victim to neither the high heels Kravitz was suffering or the alcohol spills that were ruining Edward’s clothing. The other elf didn’t seem to be bothered, instead running his fingers through Taako’s hair as he gossiped with others in the group. The gesture was familiar and affectionate and very different to the conflict Kravitz had witnessed in the big top only two days prior.

“I’m taking bets, by the way,” Lydia told them quietly as she brought another glass for her brother, slapping Taako’s hand away from it.

“Ten minutes,” Magnus immediately tossed a coin her way which she deftly caught, winking at him.

“More like five,” Edward rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a silver for his sister.

“Bets on what?” Kravitz automatically reached into his bag of holding inside his own pocket, calling forth a silver.

“How long it takes those two,” she nodded meaningfully in the general direction of Barry and Lup, who had been arguing ferociously for some time. Barry’s face was flushed bright red and Lup’s ears were pricked upright. They had lost their original train of thought a while back, and for some reason their argument was now about which was better on chocolate cake, single cream or double? “To make excuses to leave and pretend they aren’t going off to snog.”

“Clock’s ticking,” Taako flipped a coin in the air to Lydia. “Three for Lup, twelve for Barry.”

To Kravitz it didn’t look like either of the pair were going anywhere very quickly, especially not to ‘snog’. Back when he was alive courting definitely didn’t involve arguing like that. What had happened to romance, people bringing their loved ones flowers and chocolates and taking them out for romantic evenings under the moonlight?

“I’m in for fifteen,” he hedged, handing over his silver. Honestly, the others knew the couple far better than he did, but he didn’t want to look like the outsider by not putting in his money. He was trying to ingratiate himself with this group, better to find the show’s lich in the long run. Know your enemy.

“Ooh boy,” Taako laughed, kicking his feet. “You got a lot to learn, newbie.”

Taako won the bet. A stormy-faced Lup had charged away from the campfire, sparks jumping from her fingers and crackling around her, two minutes and forty seconds later. Barry had joined them at the fireside, but his flush never did fade. In quick succession he downed two more drinks before declaring that he was going to turn in, headed for the opposite end of the camp and his own caravan.

Lup sneaking back through the camp to follow him would have been much more subtle if she had been able to put out the sparks.

“I don’t know why they even try to keep it secret at this point,” Julia smiled fondly, watching Lup’s attempts at sneaking. “It’s obvious that they’re crazy about one another.”

“Commitment’s not Lup’s schtick,” Taako shrugged. His ankle flexed in Kravitz’s lap, coming dangerously close to vital parts of his anatomy.

“That’s it, I’m taking these off you,” he grabbed for the elf’s ankle, determinedly unfastening the straps which curled halfway up the toned calf.

“Yeah, homie,” Taako smirked. “Hey, how about a foot rub while you’re at it?”

Magnus and Edward made a very poor attempt at hiding matching knowing grins as Kravitz opened his mouth to refuse, annoyed with the elf for suggesting it, but all that came out was a splutter. Taako’s ankle flexed in his hand, long elven toes tipped with painted nails curling.

“You’re flirting with me?” Kravitz meant for it to sound like a simple statement of fact. He didn’t intend for his voice to rise in pitch at the end, giving the emphasis and tone of surprise to the _me_.

“Well yeah,” Taako frowned at him, long ears pricking. “Thought that was obvious.”

Kravitz stared, frozen in place for what felt like it could have been minutes but was probably only seconds.

He really shouldn’t have been so surprised. The elf had been overfamiliar with him from their first meeting. However, from what he had seen of him, Taako was that way with a lot of people. He was always touching s _omeone_ , usually Lup and usually therefore chastely. When he didn’t have an arm linked with Lup, he was draped over Kravitz or Edward or Magnus. The only times he stood alone were when he spoke with the Captain, and even then more often than not he would have Angus with him, holding a hand or curled up in his lap.

Now that he thought about it, Taako was actually very selective over who he allowed close. He had seen the elf actively avoid other members of the show, even to the extent of levitating himself over the tents to get away from Brian the Beastmaster on one occasion. He didn’t actively avoid Barry, but Kravitz had never seen them touch either, nor did Taako act flirtatiously around him.

Storing that new awareness away to consider later, Kravitz finished removing Taako’s shoes and threw them, one after the other, right into the fire.

“Hey! Those were…” Taako sat up quickly, jolting Magnus’ glass from his hand and spilling it down his own chest. “Shit! This is fantasy Prada!”

“You’re a wizard,” Kravitz reminded him, humming a tune to cast prestidigitation on the shirt to clean it instantly.

“You threw my shoes in the fire!”

“They were awful,” Kravitz sniffed. “I’ll buy you another pair. A better pair.”

“But I liked that pair…” Taako crossed his arms, sulking. “They were my favourite pair!”

“Two pairs?” Kravitz negotiated, feeling guilty. “And a foot rub?”

“Hell yeah sugar daddy!” Taako’s mischievous grin promised Kravitz that he had just been perfectly played. The elf laid back once more, waving toes in his face.

Kravitz sighed, exasperated. He was a man of his word, so though he couldn’t remember having done it before he did his very best, glad when Taako relaxed bonelessly where he laid and didn’t give him instructions.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been at his task when Magnus nudged him in the side, speaking in a quiet whisper, “I think you’re off the hook.”

Taako’s eyes were closed, a blissful expression on his face. His breathing was steady and peaceful, his decorated lips parted slightly. He was sleeping.

“Good job,” Edward congratulated, giving him a thumbs up.

“I don’t think you boys will be going anywhere tonight,” Julia chipped in, taking in their predicament. Moving would definitely jostle the elf and probably wake him. “Shall I bring a few blankets? We could all sleep out here. It’s a lovely night.”

“That sounds perfect love,” Magnus beamed. “I… I won’t be able to make the hot chocolate tonight?”

“I’ll live,” she leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. “Think Taako would mind if I join you boys?”

“You know he likes you,” Lydia’s tone was just slightly bitter. She looked to her brother. “I’m sleeping in the caravan. Try not to catch fleas out here.”

“You’re kidding babe, I’m not sleeping _outside!_ ” Edward scowled at the dusty floor. “Soon as Julia comes back I’ll swap out.”

Julia wasn’t away long, returning with a huge number of blankets and pillows and arranging them into a comfortable makeshift bed before taking Edward’s place, Kravitz holding up the back of Taako’s head with a gentle mage hand so that he wasn’t jostled awake.

“You don’t mind?” Kravitz wondered as Julia got herself comfortable, curling up on her side so that her legs were propping Taako’s head up just a bit higher than Magnus’s lap, acting as a pillow.

“It won’t be the first time we’ve spent the night outside,” she leaned her cheek on Magnus’s chest so that she could use it as a pillow for herself and was able to see Kravitz over it. “Or the first night with Taako.”

Kravitz preferred not to be judgemental in general when it came to relationships. Over the centuries he had lived he had seen so many different combinations that he had become somewhat desensitised from the prejudices that had existed when he was alive. He didn’t judge Julia and Magnus and Taako, but he wasn’t sure of the nature of what was actually happening between them and this confusion must have shown in his expression.

“Since Lup and Barry have been – unofficially – together, Taako’s been left alone,” Julia explained. “I don’t think he’s used to it. He needs someone, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that, so he plays with all the boys. He’s broken more than a few hearts over the years, but Edward and Magnus have always been his favourites. They understood more than the others.”

“Aren’t you two married?” Kravitz asked, noticing Magnus blush.

“We are, but Magnus really likes to cuddle,” Julia shrugged. “My baby has so much affection to give. I don’t have to keep all of it to myself.”

“We don’t… it doesn’t…” Magnus stammered, flushing and looking helplessly at Julia.

“They just hug,” she clarified for him. “Taako isn’t the sort of person who sleeps around, and especially not when it has even a chance of damaging someone’s relationship. The majority of those hearts he broke were because he didn’t actually want to take things further.”

“It’s a shame,” Kravitz sighed. “It’s not his fault but I can see why people would be confused. Some of the things Taako says and does, even Lup jokes about him having one-night stands…”

“Yeah. That’s what a lot of people here think,” Julia shook her head, looking fond but disappointed. “It doesn’t excuse anyone trying to take advantage, but I wish he wouldn’t encourage the wrong people to get attached, especially after what happened with Sazed…”

“That’s Taako’s story to tell,” Magnus interrupted, a little too loudly. Taako, still laid across their legs, shifted. They all held their breaths as he frowned in his sleep, reaching out an arm and patting over Magnus’s chest. None of them were sure whether he was awake or asleep as he dragged his body upwards to curl up on top of and around Magnus, clinging on like a Koala. Julia smiled fondly, stroking loose hair from Taako’s face before it could get into his mouth.

“It’s different with you,” Magnus murmured, assessing Kravitz with far less of the usual kindness in his expression. He looked suspicious and wary. “It’s like… Taako can be flirty, but usually it’s only if he wants something, and even then he shuts it down as soon as he gets what he wants. Maybe it’s just because he’s going to be working more closely with you if you’re going to be part of Sizzle It Up. Maybe it’s because you haven’t been flirting back. I’m not sure, but if you hurt him…”

“You’ll throw me out of the show,” Kravitz repeated the threat the Captain had made. “Or blow me up?”

“No?” Magnus frowned. “Well, yeah, but that’s not what I was going to say.”

Kravitz made the universal gesture to suggest that he should continue.

“I was going to say that if you hurt him, he’s never going to open up again,” Magnus rubbed small circles into the small of Taako’s back, the elf purring in his sleep at the contact. “You’ve been here for less than a week and he’s already allowed you to join us for drinks night. I know Lup invited you, but she wouldn’t have done that without checking with him first. That’s big, for Taako.”

“I… have no intention of hurting him,” Kravitz promised, uncertain.

He had Taako all wrong. His first impression of the elf had been of a childish, flirty, slightly rude person who might just use people as commodities and then throw them away. If what Magnus and Julia were telling him was true he was none of those things, not really. Maybe that was a front, hiding the insecurities underneath. What sort of friends were they that they would so thoroughly unmask him to Kravitz, who they had known for no time at all and who was essentially a stranger?

They laid for a while with Kravitz contemplating what he had been told. The thought came to him after a while that Taako moving had freed him, the elf laid entirely on Magnus. He was free to get up and go to his trailer if he wanted. He even thought about it for a while, as well as considering all that Magnus had told him.

Eventually he turned to face Magnus, awkward as the arrangement was, and tentatively wrapped an arm around Taako’s waist, keeping at least two inches above the upper hem of his skirt.

“I was meaning to ask you,” he deflected any comment Magnus may have by speaking before the man could so much as open his mouth. “Captain Davenport suggested a team training session, because I’m new to the security team?”

Magnus groaned, the reverberations from his chest running through Taako strongly enough for Kravitz to feel them on his arm. “I hate team training… Merle always manages to mess it up somehow, you know? He claims to be a cleric but I’m pretty sure some of the things he does in that greenhouse are entirely _unholy_. Still, the Captain’s right. It can’t be tomorrow though, Brain asked me if I would fix one of the cages for the menagerie. After the next show though?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kravitz agreed, biting the bullet because he couldn’t find any other way to rest his head comfortably and using Magnus’s shoulder as a pillow. “Will people think it’s weird if they get up in the morning and find us like this?”

“Nah, they’re used to it.”

* * *

 

Kravitz felt intolerably warm. Drowsy and only half aware, he tried to turn over and go back to sleep on a cooler part of what he assumed to be the bed, but he seemed to be stuck.

He opened his mouth to take in a deep breath, preparing to sigh, but he got a mouthful of hair for his troubles.

“Crappy alarm clock,” Taako’s grumbling voice finished the process of waking him, so the knock to the top of his head from Taako’s hand was entirely unnecessary. “It’s too early.”

Kravitz opened his eyes and looked to where he had expected Magnus to still be, but the human couple were gone. He and Taako were still outside covered in a stack of blankets and the fire had burned down to embers. Taako was at his side, leg looped over his hips and loose hair scattered across his chest and face. His arms had been wrapped around Kravitz’s chest but he had removed the top one to rub his own eyes clear of sleep.

“I’m sorry,” Kravitz apologised genuinely. He knew that Taako usually slept in. Out of the two of them Lup was the morning person, and by morning person he meant that she would be awake _before_ noon, which was an achievement for her twin. “There’s no curtains, and it’s getting light.”

“Hmph,” Taako lifted his head an inch from Kravitz’s chest, opening his eyes blearily to look at the horizon. “Too early.”

“I know,” he soothed. “Think you could move just for a few minutes? We could go to one of the caravans. Mine’s pretty close, just a couple of rows over.”

Taako was suddenly pushed up from his chest and frowning at him, suspicion written over his features before his smile masked it. “Knew I’d get you into bed sooner or later bird boy!”

“To _sleep_ ,” Kravitz stressed, rolling his eyes and feigning frustration. He wasn’t actually annoyed; after what Magnus and Julia had said last night though he thought any other reaction might unnerve Taako. “I’m not comfy here.”

“Well, that’s a let down,” Taako must have failed his deception check on that one, or Kravitz had an advantage with what he now knew of the elf, because he could see the relief come over him. “If I’m not getting anything out of it, I’m not getting up. If you insist on going to bed, you might have to carry me.”

“That’s not a problem,” Kravitz assured. “But you’ll have to let me get up.”

Grumbling and complaining Taako allowed Kravitz to stand and scoop the elf into his arms. For a chef – heck, for a living being – Taako was extremely light, almost too light. Kravitz found himself wondering about that, but didn’t voice the question. It was none of his business whether Taako looked after himself properly.

He resolved, almost involuntarily, to keep track of how much the elf ate from now on and encourage him to eat more if he could.

“Love what you’ve done with the place,” Taako told him once he was set down on the bed, looking from the small holes in the fabric roof, to the drab décor, to the shrine to the Raven Queen on the counter top. Kravitz thought that he should maybe have hidden the shrine before bringing Taako inside, before reminding himself that there were lots of people who worshipped the Raven Queen who were perfectly normal people, not reapers.

“I’ve not done much interior decorating,” Kravitz shrugged. “Maybe you could help me find a style, when we get to Phandolin?”

“Give my styling services away for free?” Taako pulled a shocked expression, hand over his heart. He dropped it in an instant, grinning. “Sure. Why not?”

“I could pay you?” Kravitz couldn’t decide whether Taako made light of it because he was actually joking or whether he was covering up a desire to actually get some reward if he did the job. “I already owe you two new pairs of boots. Maybe I could buy you dinner?”

Taako’s eyes narrowed instantly, one hand making a fist in the covers. As before, it lasted less than a second, and if Kravitz had blinked he would probably have missed it. The elf was back to being relaxed and smiling already. “Sure.”

Could he take back the offer? Kravitz wasn’t sure what would be worse – actually taking Taako to dinner, when his immediate reaction had been that flash of fear and anger, or withdrawing the offer now. He decided that since the offer was accepted he’d best leave it as it was, but he would be careful about how he went about the dinner. It would be best to make it as down to earth as possible, no chance of misinterpreting anything as an attempt at romance or seduction.

“Move over a bit?” he waited for Taako, again grumbling, to make enough space for him at the edge of the bed to get in. “I swear, if you push me out of my own bed I’ll drop you back into your caravan faster than you can say Dimension Door.”

“Dimension Door?” Taako asked drowsily, innocently, before his eyes snapped open and he shoved.

“I hate you,” Kravitz complained from the cold floorboards, without venom. It was his own fault for even suggesting the idea.

“Dimension door?” Taako tested again, his expression alight with mischief.

“Oh hush,” Kravitz chuckled as he climbed back on to the bed, wrapping an arm around Taako’s – remarkably, dangerously – thin waist. “There, now if you do that again you’ll be on the floor too.”

“What happened to poofing me out of here Mister Bard?”

“Don’t want to waste the spell slot,” Kravitz grumbled falsely. “I thought it was too early in the morning for you to be awake?”

“Gonna cast sleep on me?” Taako stuck out his tongue. It was a shockingly childish gesture, which made it all the worse that it caught Kravitz’s eye as much as it did. “Actually I am pretty pooped. How about you get me up at a normal person time next time?”

“Go to sleep and I will,” Kravitz insisted, not sure why he was still talking. If he shut up the elf would definitely get bored and sleep. He found that idea disappointing.

“You go to sleep first,” Taako demanded.

“So that you can draw on my face? Nope. You sleep first.”

They did eventually fall to sleep, about an hour and a pillow fight later. If Taako paid the slightest bit of attention to Kravitz’s pillows being stuffed with raven rather than duck down he didn’t comment on it in the heat of pillow war.

* * *

 

When waking from a sleeping spell there were subtle tell-tale signs. An itch on the inside of the nose without the urge to sneeze. A tingling in fingers and toes. And most noticeably the abrupt feeling of falling.

Taako had left, managing not to disturb Kravitz as he went. He had likely cast the spell so that he could sneak away. Kravitz didn’t think anything of it beside checking to make sure the elf hadn’t played any tricks on him when he was under the spell.

This was the last day of travelling, and the carriages were already moving. The horses were driven by mechanical creations of Lucas and Barry, so as long as they kept up with the pace people were able to go about their days as they chose. Kravitz allowed a lot of the transport pass him by when he emerged, waiting for the enclosed cart with the showers and then once he was ready for the day waiting again for Taako’s larger show carriage to pass.

He had missed whatever breakfast Taako had cooked, the pans discarded in the sink to be washed. Lup usually washed while Taako dried, it was their routine, but Lup was still not back from her overnight stay with Barry. Rather than waiting for her to return, Kravitz rolled up his sleeves to clean up.

Taako was there, watching Kravitz from the corner of his eye. Across from him at the table was with an older looking dwarf man in a fantasy Hawaiian shirt and shorts. A pair of gardening gloves were on the table beside his teacup. The pungent smell coming from the tea was not familiar to Kravitz, though it was suspicious.

“I’m just saying, a flower shop wouldn’t pay the bills,” Taako sounded bored, like he might have had this conversation more than once before. “If you stop buying all those hideous shirts, maybe cut back a bit? Sure, you could manage it. Until then you’re stuck with the red nose and the face paint.”

“It’s not the face paint,” the dwarf grumbled. “It’s the kids! Hundreds of kids, every show day. Heck, I can’t even handle my own kids, why would I want to be around other people’s snot monsters?”

“Morning sleepy,” Taako interrupted to finally greet Kravitz, seeming to decide something that resolved his suspiciousness. The dwarf looked up as well, taking a gulp of his tea.

“Morning,” Kravitz looked to the dwarf. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I didn’t want to disturb your conversation. I’m Kravitz.”

“Oh, I know,” the dwarf smirked at him before winking, very slowly.

“He’s Merle,” Taako introduced, openly kicking the dwarf under the table.

“Ow! That hurt!”

“Heal it,” Taako stuck out his tongue. “You’re the one who insists that you’re a cleric.”

“Ah,” the gardening gloves made more sense to Kravitz now. “Taako has mentioned you before. How are your plants doing?”

“Very well thank you,” Merle beamed, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve got this one shrubbery at the minute that’s absolutely ground breaking, you should see it, perfectly formed, tender stems, undamaged leaves...”

“Lalalalala!” Taako stuffed his fingers into his large elf ears, eyes wide with horror. “No plant talk!”

“He asked!” Merle crossed his arms, glaring daggers.

“Sorry, can’t here you, lalalala!”

“I’m told if he teases you it’s because he doesn’t hate you,” Kravitz reassured Merle with a shrug. “You two must be close?”

“His cooking show produces the best fertiliser for the plants,” Merle grumbled, attempting to kick Taako under the table but his leg wasn’t long enough.

“Lalalalala…”

“We could just leave him to it?” Kravitz suggested. “It might be more peaceful than if he’s actually talking?”

“I don’t think…”

Even with his fingers in his ears already, Taako slammed his palms flat against them as an alarm sounded, deafeningly loud, its location difficult to determine due to its sheer volume. Kravitz covered his ears so quickly that he nearly hit himself in the head with the frying pan he had halfway washed, splashing water all down the front of his suit. Merle didn’t seem to be as badly affected, though he swore profusely in a string of profanity most would consider unfitting for a cleric.

Taako tore his hands away from his ears, Kravitz recognising the familiar motions involved in casting message.

“Shut it off, we’re deaf now but we’ve heard you. We’re on our way.”

“What is it?” Kravitz asked as soon as the ringing in his ears stopped. They were already out the door, Taako shoving a purple wizard’s hat onto his head as they left the caravan, Merle’s grip tight around a book with the title ‘Extreme Teen Bible’.

“Security breach,” Taako told him quickly. “They’d better not have interrupted Lup’s morning, she doesn’t stay over there often.”

The whole chain of caravans had stopped in its tracks, people emerging from their mobile homes and muttering to one another, trying to work out what the problem was. Taako and Kravitz rushed past them all, Merle following more slowly on shorter legs, until they reached the bestiary caravans where Captain Davenport and Magnus were waiting impatiently.

“Is this us?” Magnus looked them over quickly. “Lup still…”

“With Barry,” Taako spoke quickly. “What’s the problem?”

“Bryan.”

“The Beastmaster?”

“Not Brian, Brian. Bryan,” Taako explained unhelpfully. “How did he get out?”

“I was fixing the cage,” Magnus looked a bit guilty. “Julia brought me some lunch and I was… distracted… and I must have forgotten to do the latch.”

“Not your fault big guy,” Taako flourished a hand dismissively. “How long’s he been gone?”

“At most an hour,” Magnus rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding their gaze. “Brian’s gone too. I think he might have gone after Bryan.”

“I’m sorry, what is Bryan?” Kravitz interrupted, struggling to follow.

“Brian’s giant spider,” Captain Davenport kindly filled in the gap.

“Thank you,” Kravitz nodded. “Any idea which way it went?”

“No?” Magnus winced.

“Ooh kay,” Taako rolled his eyes. “Ready to move?”

“We don’t know where we’re even going,” Merle complained. Taako’s wand dropped into his hand.

“Bippidi-boppedi-boo,” the elf flicked the wand with practiced ease, the spell unfamiliar to Kravitz, before pointing to some hills in the distance. “Wooh boy, it’s nearly out of range, let’s haul ass.”

“What spell was that?” Kravitz questioned curiously as they quickly grabbed horses from waiting helpers and followed the direction Taako’s wand still pointed.

“Locate creature,” Taako laughed at his expression. “Don’t look so impressed, it’s only fourth level music boy.”

“When we find Bryan, I can charm him,” Kravitz caught himself showing off only after he’d said it. “That happens to be fourth level as well, hat boy.”

Taako seemed to think that was the funniest thing, doubling over his horse’s back. He was lucky the beast didn’t throw him off. “You need to work on your come backs. Hat boy?”

“I may be out of practice,” he admitted. Childishly, not sure where the impulse came from, he kicked on his horse to race with Taako’s, the elf quickly having to sit back up as the ride suddenly became much more uneven.

“Ooh, so it’s like that is it?” Taako laughed, spurring on his own horse with a whoop.

Neither animal was designed for racing, heavy cart pulling beasts with thundering hooves and only so much speed that could be urged from their heavy frames. However, like a lot of horses, no one seemed to have told them that, and they raced with almost as much enthusiasm as their riders, overtaking Magnus’s horse and sending it into a bolt after them which the heavier man struggled to sit to and nearly wobbled off the side.

The horses tired quickly, and Taako pulled his down to a trot to check the direction his wand was pointing them.

“We’re definitely much closer,” he told them, his eyes following the direction of the wand. “Anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Spiders do like dark places,” Kravitz agreed, following the wand’s direction to a cave system in the cliff ahead.

“I know this place,” Merle told them, his horse having lagged behind but coming within earshot as they talked. “I think it belonged to someone in my family, but they disappeared?”

“Well that sounds like fun,” Taako frowned. “You’re really getting better at those motivational speeches.”

“Yeah, but surely they didn’t die here?” Magnus questioned, not waiting for an answer. “Come on guys, looks like we’re on foot from here.”

Magnus dismounted his horse in a rush, rushing into the mouth of the cave.

“Actually,” Merle added as an aside to Kravitz, reluctantly getting down from his horse. “The day he disappeared, I think he was planning to visit this exact cave.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are a writer's life blood, especially when entering a new fandom (from a writing perspective). I would be delighted to hear from you.
> 
> Also, I know what the amazing artists in the TAZ fandom are capable of, and if anyone is keen to bring to life my mental image of TAZ characters in their AU roles here, that would be amazing! You have my absolute permission and encouragement to do so - I'd love to see the results!


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